She was also asked if Britain voted to leave again how it would impact Scotland’s “struggle to remain”.

Ms Sturgeon said: “At that point the struggle for the UK to remain may be over, but I’m not going to speculate beyond that.

“Certainly, the struggle for Scotland as an independent country to remain would be by no means over, but perhaps just stepping up a few gears.”

She added: “I think now we are in the position of actually seeing remaining in the EU as a distinct possibility, that’s always been our preferred option and it’s the one we’re going to continue to argue for.”

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